Introduction
In Search of the Living Universe
Part I
Awakening to the Beauty of Nature
Humanity and the Cosmological Impulse
1 Starlight and Cosmovision
Awakening to the Universe
2 Beauty, Desire, and the Soul of the World
3 Life in the Cosmopolis
4 The Light of Nature and the Alchemical Imagination
5 The Lushness of Earth and the Spirit of the Desert
6 The Last Flowering
The Rediscovery of Soul in Renaissance Florence
Part II
The Death of Nature and the Rise of Alienation
7 The Mechanization of the World
8 In the Name of Utility
The Exploitation of Nature and the Decline of Pleasure
Part III
Anima Mundi
Rediscovering the Living Universe
9 Psyche Regained
10 The Mirror of Nature
Modern Cosmology and the Reanimation of the Universe
11 The Pattern Which Connects
Life and Mind in Nature
Part IV
A World with a Future
Cultivating Life in a Global Community
12 The Turning Point
Returning Home in the Space Age
13 The Alchemy of Engagement
Working in Collaboration with Nature
Acknowledgments
Illustration Credits
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
David Fideler holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and the history of science and cosmology. A recognized authority on the Pythagorean school, he is the editor of The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library; author of Jesus Christ, Sun of God; translator of Love’s Alchemy; and editor of the humanities journal Alexandria.
“If humanity is to survive, David Fideler’s Restoring the Soul of
the World provides us with the map for restoring our own souls and
those of the planet with brilliance, clarity, and a love for human
life and the life of nature.”
*Sim Van der Ryn, coauthor of Ecological Design*
“David Fideler is a scholar and thinker of the first rank, and this
marvelous book presents his profound historical, scientific, and
philosophical expertise in a brilliant synthesis that is accessible
to everyone. It is a beautifully written and wide-ranging guide to
the history of the soul of the world. Drawing together threads from
every field of human endeavor, from theology to poetry and
astrophysics to biology, it is the most exciting, uplifting, and
optimistic exhortation to engage with and restore the magical world
around us that I have read in a long time.”
*Tom Cheetham, Ph.D., author of All the World an Icon*
“Restoring the Soul of the World goes beyond the goal of
‘sustainability’ to a new vision of our role here on Earth as
renewing and regenerating a world that we feel emotionally
committed to and want to care for and understand from a long-term
view. This book is optimistic in the best way--based not just on
hope or determination but on science, on an exciting array of
successful solutions, and a daring kind of spiritual freedom rooted
in the cosmos. This outlook could transform the world.”
*Nancy Ellen Abrams and Joel R. Primack, authors of The New
Universe and the Human Future*
“Restoring the Soul of the World is the most far-reaching book
available on more profound ways of understanding how we are
connected to the cosmos. David Fideler reveals previously hidden
traditions and ways of understanding ourselves and nature,
exploring our relationships to nature’s intelligence as no one has
before. A classic: you need to read this book.”
*Arthur Versluis, professor of American Studies at Michigan State
University*
“In Restoring the Soul of the World, David Fideler highlights the
paradigmatic foundations of seemingly intransigent religious,
scientific, and economic beliefs. But he then takes the
crucial--and all too rare--step of interpreting and integrating
these histories to illuminate a path forward. He pragmatically
demonstrates how models of regenerative strategies can be found all
around, and that restoring the soul of the world begins with
becoming attuned to the cycles and patterns of a living
universe.”
*David McConville, chairman of the board of The Buckminster Fuller
Institute*
“In this timely and absorbing book, David Fideler traces our long
relationship with the world soul, chronicling how our experience of
the spiritual power of nature was lost in a mechanized world. Yet
Fideler brings real hope. Drawing on recent scientific discoveries
and solutions, he envisions a way for humanity to collaborate in a
‘living but damaged paradise.’ This book will help many people take
heart.”
*Tracy Cochran, editor for Parabola magazine*
“Restoring the Soul of the World is a wonderful book. I challenge
anyone to read it intently and not feel the presence of the anima
mundi or hear the hum of the music of the spheres. David Fideler is
an inspiring guide on an enlivening excursion through the
intelligence of nature. He brings together heart and mind in an
alchemical fusion uniquely his own.”
*Gary Lachman, author of The Caretakers of the Cosmos*
“Restoring the Soul of the World is a timely rallying call to
reimagine our relationship with our world, our culture, and our
cosmos. Through a masterful overview of the history of forgotten
knowledge, Fideler reveals the unsuspected connections between
ancient thought and the cutting edge of contemporary natural
science.”
*Leon Marvell, author of Transfigured Light*
"Dr. Fideler focuses on the inroads that have been made in working
with living organisms to clean up toxic wastewater and regenerate
entire ecosystems. His vision is for us to participate creatively
in cultivating all life and restoring the beauty, fertility and
resilience of nature."
*Nexus, December 2015*
“At the dawn of the twenty-first century, many people are searching
for meaning in their lives. Something is missing, and we seem
incapable of putting a finger on it. Fideler’s book does not
complete the puzzle; however, it does provide a critical piece that
can help us find our way forward by employing the wisdom of the
ancients. It is time for humanity to look beyond lame science and
blind religion to find an answer for the common causes of humanity
and the well-being of our ecosystem. Fideler’s Restoring the Soul
of the World draws upon the wisdom of the past to create a
reasonable path forward--a path that begins with the restoration of
our relationship with our living, intelligent, and sacred
cosmos.”
*Traditional Stoicism, Chris Fisher, March 2016*
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